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Route B (New York City Subway)
The B Sixth Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. It is colored orange on the route sign (either on the front and/or side - depending on equipment used) and on station signs and the NYC Subway map, as it represents a service provided on the IND Sixth Avenue Line in . Its normal service pattern is from 145th Street in to Brighton Beach, , running local north of 59th Street–Columbus Circle and express south of there. During rush hours, service is extended north on the IND Concourse Line local tracks to Bedford Park Boulevard. service only runs weekdays from 06:00 to 21:50. At other times, local service on the IND Eighth Avenue Line is provided by the ( during late nights), express service on the IND Sixth Avenue Line is provided by the , and service on the BMT Brighton Line in Brooklyn is provided by the . The is one of only two New York City Subway services that have two or more stations with the same name (the other being the train): It has two "Seventh Avenue" stations, one in Brooklyn (on Flatbush Avenue) and the other in Manhattan (on 53rd Street). Service history *The designation was originally intended to designate express trains originating in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan and operating in Midtown Manhattan on the IND Sixth Avenue Line. However, the original service, beginning with the opening of the Sixth Avenue Line in 1940 and continuing until opening of the IND Chrystie Street Connection in 1967, ran only as a rush-hour local between 168th Street–Washington Heights and 34th Street–Herald Square. This service was designated in conformance with Independent Subway System protocol of using double letters to indicate local services. *Subsequent to the opening of the Chrystie Street Connection the former trains were combined with the former service of the BMT West End Line, creating a through service from Washington Heights to Coney Island. This service was initially to have been signed BT but was simply signed instead. *The partial closure of the Manhattan Bridge to subway service between 1986 and 2004 affected service by severing the connection between the northern and southern portions of the route. Beginning on April 26, 1986, the northern (via Sixth Avenue, informally called "Orange ") and the southern (via the BMT Broadway Line, informally called "Yellow B'''") operated as two different services. The Orange more or less duplicated the former service, and the Yellow imitated the old service. *The former service resumed December 11, 1988. On October 29, 1989, the IND 63rd Street Line opened, extending service to 21st Street–Queensbridge. service ran through this new line on weekends. A year later, it would also run here on weekday evenings. *On April 30, 1995, the north side of the Manhattan Bridge was closed on midday and weekends until the following November. During this time, trains ran only between Pacific Street and Stillwell Avenue, running local on the BMT West End Line and express on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line. *On February 22, 1998, service was cut to 57th Street/Sixth Avenue on evenings and weekends as a result of the reconstruction of the IND 63rd Street Line. Service on that line was replaced by a shuttle to the BMT Broadway Line. *On March 1, 1998, the and the switched northern terminals, ending the connection between the and Washington Heights. The was now routed onto the IND Concourse Line during rush hours. *In 2000, service was taken out of the IND 63rd Street Line for signal and track work. It now ran along Central Park West to 145th Street (Bedford Park Boulevard during rush hours) at all times except late nights. *On July 22, 2001, service over the Manhattan Bridge was again interrupted and service recast similarly to the 1986 changes. However, this time the West End Line portion of the run was redesignated as the . service ran weekdays only, to Bedford Park Boulevard during rush hours and 145th Street during middays and evenings. *On February 22, 2004, the Manhattan Bridge was fully reopened to subway service. trains were extended through Grand Street station and over the north tracks of the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn, replacing the Diamond as the Brighton Express to Brighton Beach. *With this most recent service change, the only part of the original service of 1940 that remains signed as is the local service between 145th Street and 34th Street–Herald Square (not the other Penn Stations) in Manhattan. Route The following table shows the lines used by Route '''B, with shaded boxes indicating the route at the specified times: References *Line By Line History External links *MTA NYC Transit — B Sixth Avenue Express * }}